Views And Reviews: Tawahi Trio
....Indeed, perusing the programme I wondered, “Who the hell is Alfred Uhl?” I soon found out. He is someone who, when it comes to marrying his peaches to his cream, really knows his metaphorically-mixed onions! Enjoyable as were the concerto-esque pyrotechnics, it was when Uhl caused Bertelli and O’Neil to converge onto curvaceous melodic lines that my jaw dropped....
Paul Serotsky reviews a concert given by the Tawahi Trio.
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Alfred Uhl – Kleines Konzert; Schumann – Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales) op. 132; Rebecca Clarke – Prelude, Allegro and Pastorale; Mozart – Trio in E flat, K498 “Kegelstatt”
Tawahi Trio [Donald O’Neil (viola), Jean-Michel Bertelli (clarinet), Richard Beauchamp (piano)], Capitaine Bougainville Theatre, Whangarei, New Zealand, Thursday 7 August 2008 (PSe)
Where would we be without those happy little accidents and coincidences that help to brighten things up? One such occurred in 2006, whilst the Lyon Opera Company was at the Edinburgh Festival. Donald O’Neil, one of the orchestra’s viola players, just happened to bump into an old pal, pianist Richard Beauchamp.
In itself, that’s hardly what you’d call Earth-shattering. However, this chance reunion of two expatriate Kiwis ignited an idea – why not form a compact chamber group specifically for touring New Zealand? Taking “busmen’s holidays” would, to say the least, save a packet on trips home! So, opting for a trio, they roped in the clarinettist Jean-Michel Bertelli, a colleague and occasional chamber music partner of Donald’s. Their choice of name was really neat – “Tawahi” means “the other side”, in the sense of “across the ocean”.
I sometimes feel so sorry for the viola, and not because of all the “viola player” jokes. It has such a cuddly, lovable, “acorn-coloured” sound, intimate and so very quietly-spoken. Unfortunately, this last makes it difficult to accommodate as a solo instrument. It must rely on consideration both from composers, who generally avoid it, and playing partners who, let’s face it, cannot entirely subordinate their own interests. The articulate and vociferous clarinet, if anything, suffers from the opposite problem.
I’d hazard that, for these reasons, most composers conclude that they make uncomfortably strange bedfellows. The four featured in this recital, at least, thought otherwise, as of course must the Tawahi Trio. Truth to tell, the works presented reveal that, in spite of their apparent incompatibility, the viola and clarinet actually go together like peaches and cream – provided, that is, the performers play ball.
And “ball” the Tawahi Trio most definitely played. Both Bertelli, whose body-language would have won Harry Partch’s approval, and the more businesslike Beauchamp epitomised good manners. The former evidently reined in his clarinet’s power, with a presumed proportionate gain in tonal purity. The latter’s fingers truly “tickled the ivories”, almost treating the piano as a spinet. In a very real sense, both players were implicitly obeying the admonishment generally inscribed on that singularly fragile instrument: fait plus douceur que violence.
Did it do the trick? Well, not quite – the louder or more agitated the music, the less the viola came through. To be fair, though, the lady sitting next to me thought it sounded fine which, I guess, makes me a bit too picky. Nevertheless, as the viola is such a crucial component of both the Tawahi Trio and their chosen programme, it wouldn’t hurt for them to make double-sure that they nail this.
Overall, the Tawahi Trio’s playing strikes me as refined – possibly due to a certain “Gallic” influence? – expressive but without affectation. The Schumann movements were well characterised, whilst Mozart – who was no slouch at promoting both the clarinet and the viola – benefited from the lack of affectation, although refinement did rather smooth the “dance” out of the Minuet. Perhaps surprisingly, given this exalted company, the recital’s real highlights came courtesy of the two “lesser” composers.
Indeed, perusing the programme I wondered, “Who the hell is Alfred Uhl?” I soon found out. He is someone who, when it comes to marrying his peaches to his cream, really knows his metaphorically-mixed onions! Enjoyable as were the concerto-esque pyrotechnics, it was when Uhl caused Bertelli and O’Neil to converge onto curvaceous melodic lines that my jaw dropped. I’d never heard anything quite like it – the extraordinary, luminous beauty of their blended sound left my metaphor looking decidedly dog-eared.
Rebecca Clarke’s description of her work as “unpretentious” refers to its modesty of means and style. Equally modest herself, she made no claims for any emotional depth. Calling the Pastorale “rather melancholy and nostalgic” in no way prepares its audience for what happens: an initially innocent idyll becomes blighted by almost imperceptibly creeping corruption.
Suddenly, a bell rang in my head, and I asked myself, “When was this written?” Not I, but the programme note replied, “1941” – amid the Second World War’s darkest days. Here’s another of those “accidents and coincidences”, because the entire process and intention is the same as the (equally misleadingly titled!) Romanza of Vaughan Williams’s contemporaneous Fifth Symphony. Other than a great, big “thankyou”, further comment on the skill of the Tawahi Trio in ringing my bell is, I suspect, quite superfluous.
